Prospero Pichay Jr.

Prospero Arreza Pichay Jr. (, born June 20, 1950), also known as Butch Pichay, is a Filipino politician who served as Representative of Surigao del Sur's 1st district in the Philippine House of Representatives from 1998 to 2007 and from 2016 to 2022.

Pichay was born on June 20, 1950, in the town of Cantilan in the then-province of Surigao (now Surigao del Sur).

He is the son of former Carmen, Surigao del Sur Provincial Treasurer Prospero Pichay Sr. He is the brother of Philip Pichay, a former congressman and mayor of Cantilan.

He is also a relative of Wenceslao Arreza, former mayor of Carmen, Surigao del Sur; Alfred Arreza, former mayor of Carrascal, Surigao del Sur; and Carmeling Pichay-Crisologo, former Governor of Ilocos Sur whose husband is former Ilocos Sur Representative Floro Crisologo.

Pichay went to Tandag Central Elementary School and graduated in 1962.

He went to Saint Peter's Seminary of Surigao and graduated in 1966.

He graduated Bachelor of Science in Commerce at De La Salle University in Manila in 1970.

Pichay is the owner of Carlo Commercial Publishing, a printing press, and Carlo Publishing, the makers of hit street tabloid "Remate".

He also owns DZME a commercial AM radio station in Roosevelt Avenue in Quezon City.

Pichay ran for congressman for the 1st District of Surigao del Sur in the 1998 elections and won.

In 2000, Pichay joined fellow congressmen who endorsed the verified complaint against President Joseph Estrada.

Coming under the heels of EDSA 2, Congress was reorganized and Pichay was elected Chairman of the House Committee on National Defense.

Pichay was re-elected as congressman in the 2004 elections.

Pichay voted to junk the 2005 and 2006 impeachment complaints against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

At the height of the "Hello Garci Scandal", he said there was nothing wrong with Arroyo talking to Commission on Elections officials, as all candidates talk to them to protect their votes.

In October 2006, Pichay authored House Resolution 1285, which sought to convene a constituent assembly to amend the 1987 Constitution.

One of his proposals is the abolition of the Philippine Senate and the creation of a unicameral parliament.

The resolution was widely opposed by civil society and church groups and the resolution was shelved on the same month.

When the Department of Justice announced a plan to ban all government officials from going to bars, karaoke joints and other nightspots, Pichay assailed the move as the "highest form of hypocrisy."

Pichay believed there was nothing wrong with going to bars if public officials do it on their own time, saying “Moralizing is very subjective.

We should not mix it with governance."

During his time as congressman, Pichay contributed to the following laws:

He is a member of the formerly dominant political party Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino and was a senatorial aspirant in the 2007 Philippine Senate election but lost.

Pichay ran for senator in 2007 under TEAM Unity but lost after placing 16th in the overall results.

He reportedly spent P127.39 million for campaign ads, the highest candidate expenditure for that election.

Following his defeat, it was rumored that Pichay would be appointed by President Arroyo as head of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.

It was later reported that he would be appointed as a member of the board and chair of the Local Waterworks and Utilities Administration (LWUA).

On August 28, 2008, Pichay announced that he will not accept his appointment as board member of the LWUA, for he is satisfied with his current job in a private company.

However, on September 4, he changed his mind and accepted his appointment.

Eduardo Ermita announced that Pichay has decided to accept his appointment as board member with a nomination to be elected as chair.

In September 2010, an employees' group of the LWUA filed a plunder complaint against Pichay before the Office of the Ombudsman for allegedly using the agency's money for his personal interest.

The complaints stemmed from LWUA's ₱780-million investment in the Express Savings Bank, Inc.

In April 2011, during the administration of President Benigno Aquino III, criminal and administrative charges were filed against Pichay and other LWUA officials for their "highly irregular" and "anomalous" acquisition of a controlling stake at Express Savings Bank, Inc., a thrift bank in Cabuyao, Laguna, owned by the Gatchalian family which suffered losses of up to ₱27.87 million from 2005 to 2009.

On July 4, 2011, the Ombudsman ordered the dismissal of Pichay and two other officials for grave misconduct in connection to the 2009 acquisition of Express Savings Bank, Inc. by LWUA.

They were stripped of all benefits and were permanently disqualified from working in government.

Pichay responded by saying his dismissal was "political harassment" and accused the Aquino administration of getting back at him for his staunch support for the previous Arroyo administration.

He appealed to the Court of Appeals in October 2011 but his dismissal was upheld in November 2013.

He was again named to the same post when his constituents overwhelmingly voted him into office in the elections for the 12th Congress.

He was the chairman of the House Committee on National Defense in the 13th Congress and deputy speaker in the 17th and 18th Congresses.

When the 13th Congress was organized, Pichay's political career would take on a more prominent course: he was named Head of the House of Representatives Contingent to the powerful Commission on Appointments (CA).